Ebola Outbreak Brings CDC Flaws to Light
Kim Wereszenski
COM/215
February 2, 2015
William Morgan

Ebola Outbreak Brings CDC Flaws to Light
The US Ebola outbreak of 2014 brings to light flaws in decisions and processes followed by the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). After the break out of the Ebola virus in the US, American citizens have lost faith in the CDC. This biological event showed the CDC was ill prepared. The CDC, Founded by Dr. Joseph Mountin in 1964, was developed to combat the increasing spread of malaria. In 1964, it was a much smaller business with less than 400 employees. Over the years, Americans grew to trust the CDC’s processes and procedures. According to "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" (2013), “Today, CDC is the nation′s premier health promotion, prevention, and preparedness agency and a global leader in public health.” America started to lose faith in the CDC when the Ebola arrived in the US. Hospitals were not properly trained to handle an outbreak of this nature, stocked with protective gear, or taking proper precautions when encountering a potential Ebola patient.
In 2014, the Ebola virus was out of control and spreading in West Africa. This heightened spread should have prompted the CDC to increase awareness and protocols in the US, yet nothing was done to protect or manage the situation. “When the outbreak in West Africa began, the CDC said that any hospital in the US with single rooms can safely care for patients with Ebola” (Shafer, Dembry, & Volkman, 2014, para.5). It was not until after the virus touched down in the US, did the CDC realize hospitals may not have the necessities to control the virus. A man named Thomas Duncan is the first case of the Ebola virus in the US. During the outbreak, Duncan traveled from Liberia to the US. Prior to leaving Liberia, he came into direct contact with a woman infected with the Ebola virus. He entered a Dallas, TX hospital for the first time on September 25, 2014 experiencing symptoms of the virus. Despite telling the hospital nurse he was in direct contact with the deadly virus, the decision is to release Duncan. This decision was wrong and further spread the virus. Had better training and awareness been raised at the start of the pandemic in West Africa, the spread to US citizens could have been avoided. It is the responsibility of the CDC to ensure the hospitals caring for patients are up to date and able to control deadly diseases. The second time Duncan entered the Dallas hospital was on September 28, 2014. This day, the first case of Ebola in the US was confirmed. Panic then ensued across the US as Duncan succumbed to the virus days later. The Dallas hospital was not sure of the proper steps to take to dispose of Duncan’s infected waste (Shafer, Dembry, 2014). Prior to Duncan, all US Ebola cases were humanitarian workers helping in Africa. These patients are flown into the US and place into a controlled environment. The CDC now realizes they are not as prepared as once thought.
The ignorance of the Dallas hospital staff caused the virus to spread to several nurses. Once the news of the virus broke, the CDC began putting kits of personal protection equipment (PPE) together for the medical personnel caring for Ebola patients (“Ebola: CDC Stockpiling Protective Gear,” 2014). PPE should not be a reaction, but instead hospitals should already have this equipment on site. Upon research, “the available PPE is not sufficient enough that every hospital can have a supply” (Shafer, Dembry, 2014, para. 35). The poorly trained employees do not know how to use the PPE efficiently which results in two employees becoming infected with the virus (Shafer, Dembry, 2014). The equipment is useless if the staff cannot use it correctly. The CDC needs to do a better job of ensuring the staff has the proper training. There should be a record of training and periodic testing to ensure the staff does not lose sight of the possible repercussions. After this realization, “the CDC has issued a guidance document outlining more stringent protective measures to be used when transporting and managing patients infected with Ebola” (Kennedy, 2014, p. 7). After caring for Duncan, one of the nurses, Amber Joy Vinson was allowed to travel on a commercial aircraft. She informed the airline she had a fever and previously cared for the Ebola patient in Dallas. She was just beginning to show signs of the virus, yet the CDC cleared Vinson to fly on a commercial aircraft from Cleveland to Dallas. Shortly after the flight, Vinson was diagnosed with Ebola. As a result, the plane was grounded and thoroughly cleaned to ensure the virus would not spread to potential passengers. To contain the virus the Dallas staff in direct contact with Duncan should have been placed in quarantine.
The CDC needs to put precautions in place to prevent future outbreaks, not react to them, not only across the nation, but in their facilities. According to "Fox News" (2015), “Just recently, one lab worker inadvertently risked contracting Ebola last month when they worked with the live virus that was supposed to have been inactivated, or killed” (para. 2). There have been several mishaps over the last few months that had the potential to release deadly viruses to the public. Our health and public safety are serious matters. As social media and other technologies further spread the news about the CDC mishaps, it is hard to restore the faith.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013).
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/about/history/index.html

Ebola: CDC Stockpiling Protective Gear. (2014, Winter). The Journal of Medical Practice Management : MPM, 30(3), 1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/1644486343?accountid=458 FOX News. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/01/29/cdc-installing-cameras-in-labs-in-agency-wide-safety-push/

Kennedy, M. (2014, December). Our Ebola Wake-Up Call. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 114(12), 7. Retrieved from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/sp-3.14.0b/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8c6d5cc3ea7a7100e0b93a0a4d4740e7fe793b623895ac3ad3848c64b1746053fcf0455afe19b75dd14b5302faef802aceb45c64bec32a1d0d4e513c931f34088257c2b861db8361896ea3d7eebf4d1bf33364a6bb7888472f6e2dff6ea0cbe11d7ab8984e86fa366b02304b60e5a7d24e54dc377d758b6293b66fcdb427e2014ca16d528059ea0f48a300ffddfb8b7e2b728083a61f538e6f4328e1e910fbc435e2e6f5b163000d46e3e365998416e74b656800299585e35ea5989771655d274fecfe94fd9c9fc913

References

Shafer, E., Dembry, L., & Volkman, J. (2014, December). US hospitals step up training, preparation for Ebola. Infectious Disease News, 27(12), 1,10-12.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/1638552764?pq-origsite=summon